Twisted
by LaheyLydia
Summary: AU. AH. Rosalie and Edward have been friends since childhood. Alice watches the relationship as it takes a rocky form of love and dependency. Then, a new girl suddenly moves to town, drawing Edward away from Bella, and Rosalie closer to Emmett, with whom she is having an affair. Alice struggles to help sort their problems while putting focus on her own life and problems.
1. Chapter 1

The girl's screams echoed around the clearing near the only river in their Californian town. "Edward!" Her scream bounced off the trees and she stood, soaking wet and unhappy. She forcefully strode out of the river and shot him a glare as she grabbed a towel off a branch nearby.

He couldn't stop himself from taking her in as she dried off. He was, in fact, a teenage guy and Rosalie was an extremely beautiful teenage girl. Her hair was a soft blonde and her eyes shone a pale blue, like the sea illuminating from her pale skin.

"You need to quit throwing me in the river." She grumbled, placing the towel on a tree branch and making her way closer to Edward. His bronze hair reflected in the waning light and she tried to keep the smile off her face.

"Rosalie!" Her name echoed around the forest as Alice stormed into the clearing.

Alice was Rosalie's best friend and, by default, Edward's as well. Today her deep black hair was pulled back tightly instead of in the usual spikes, giving her the appearance of a stern teacher. "You were supposed to come to dinner a half an hour ago." She put her hands on her hips and shot Edward a glare, obviously already anticipating Rosalie's answer.

"Blame Edward." She said with a shrug, gathering her things and walking over to Alice, the towel left forgotten back on the branch.

"I'm ready now." She continued, ignoring Alice's eye roll.

Alice said nothing as they trekked through the woods and away from the hidden meadow. "Next time, I'm just going to leave you." Alice threatened climbing into the driver's seat of her car.

Rosalie didn't answer, simply staring out the window of the passenger side having heard the empty threat countless times before.

Edward continued the familiar dance by adding, "I'll watch the clock next time." With only one, "See that you do," from Alice, the dance was over and they rode in silence.

They raced through the sleepy town to get to their favorite diner, the one they ate at nearly everyday.

"My parents are in Greece. Jasper's gone with them this time." Rosalie said quietly, not taking her eyes of truck's window to the outside world.

Alice sighed a nearly inaudible sigh. Rosalie's parents never wanted children, that much was obvious from their lifestyle. Every month they travelled to a new place and every month they left Rosalie and her twin brother, Jasper, alone in a giant house on top of the cliff overlooking the tiny town. Sometimes, the twins were happy to have the house to themselves. They took it as a time to host parties or order takeout for every meal and give their cooks some time off. More often though, they were left feeling like the abandoned children they were. Of course, they didn't show it. The twins were well aware that their successful parents and massive mansion left them very little to complain about. Still, Rosalie would retreat into herself, as she was doing now. Especially with Jasper having gone with her parents, which was rare, she would be completely alone in the mansion.

The car pulled to a stop outside the restaurant. Alice sighed and shut off the engine. Rosalie continued to look out the window, paying no notion to the lack of movement.

"I'm sleeping at your house tonight." Alice announced, removing the keys from the ignition, but not moving to get out of the car.

They sat there in silence, waiting from some response. Rosalie didn't seem as though she heard or cared.

Alice looked over at Edward, concern in her eyes and he shrugged, about to open the door to get Rosalie out of the car. Alice quickly shook her head and turned back to Rosalie, Edward's hand frozen on the door handle as he watched them.

She snapped her fingers forcefully until Rosalie turned, a blank stare and confusion on her face.

"Sorry?" She questioned slowly, looking around as if she just came out of a long sleep.

"Don't be sorry." Alice said sharply. "I'm sleeping over tonight. But first, we're eating here so shape up."

The change was almost remarkable. It was as if Rosalie was suddenly coming out of slow motion. She held her head up and put on a beautiful smile for Alice.

"That's my girl." Her eyes didn't change with her expression, though. They still reflected the sadness and loneliness that Alice and Edward could sense inside of her.

Edward quickly slid out of the car, intent on opening her door and encircling her in his arms. Before he could open her door, she quickly got out and strode past him into the diner.

Alice appeared next to him then and they watched Rosalie glide into the restaurant without a word. When the door closed, Alice let out a huge sigh and seemed to deflate.

"Must be hard being a teenage mother." He joked quietly, glancing at Alice to see her eyes closed; she looked so tired, caring for Rosalie's constant mood swings was starting to wear her down.

At the comment, her eyes shot open and the tired look was replaced by a more practiced, stern look. She didn't say anything, just walked forward to join their friends.

Emmett McCarty had been eating his burger, his arm protectively around his girlfriend when the door to the diner swung open and in walked Rosalie Hale.

Her eyes scanned the room and when they met his, she shot him a little wave with a coy smile. He shot his head to the side, but his girlfriend, Angela, had her eyes on the burger she was trying to eat. Noticing this, his eyes shot back up to meet Rosalie's and she motioned to the back door of the diner.

"Sweetheart, I'll be right back I just need to use the bathroom." Emmett said to Angela and she nodded sweetly, so trusting of her long time boyfriend.

Angela could never have imagined that her boyfriend had the ability to betray her. In her head, they were pre-engaged, not just dating. She realized it wasn't practical to get engaged in high school which was the only reason why she assumed that they were waiting.

Emmett strode across the diner, but before he made it to the bathroom a delicate hand shot out and grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him out the backdoor.

"Did you miss me?" Rosalie asked, pulling him playfully into the alley.

Emmett still could not believe, even two months later, that anyone half as beautiful as Rosalie Hale would want anything to do with him.

"Em." She demanded. Emmett never let anyone, not even Angela, call him Em. He thought it was a childish and feminine name, not masculine like Emmett. Emmett was who he was since grade school. But out of Rosalie's mouth it was heaven. He wasn't himself when he was with Rosalie so it was only fitting that he would get a new name with her too.

"Yes, I missed you _very_ much." He answered gruffly, preoccupied by the sight of her tongue darting out to wet her lips.

A wicked grin spread across her face while she took note of where his eyes had drifted to. She considered the boy standing before her carefully. He was gorgeous, that was obvious. Curly brown hair falling into piercing blue eyes which met her gaze as he looked straight at her, taking in her angelic appearance.

"Rosalie, this is wrong." He said slowly, glancing back at the door that would take him into the diner and back to Angela.

The grin dropped from Rosalie's face. She quickly took Emmett's face in her hands and raised her lips to meet his. They were met with no resistance as Emmett wrapped his noticeably large arms around her waist and pulled her closer. His guilt was shoved away by desire as Rosalie moaned softly against his mouth. Too soon for him, she pulled back and rested her forehead against his chest. She could feel his heart beating a mile a minute and reached up to place a lazy kiss against his neck.

"You can't come over tonight. Alice is sleeping over." He groaned quietly, not wanting to spend the night without her. "We still have Sunday, baby." She said softly, listening to his heartbeat slow as he regained control. "See you then." She pulled back from him and fixed her hair before walking back into the diner.

Edward eyed Rosalie suspiciously as she joined them at the table.

"Have fun?" He teased her only to be met with a glare.

"It's the bathroom, Edward."

Emmett walked back into the diner a moment later, joining Angela at their booth. Angela looked up at her boyfriend, frowning when she saw his eyes linger on Rosalie Hale. She couldn't deny that Rosalie was gorgeous, but Emmett really shouldn't be looking at her like that.

"Hi, sweetheart." Angela said to get Emmett's attention back on her. He turned back to her, devotion written on his face.

From her booth, Rosalie looked over at Emmett deep in conversation with his girlfriend. "Rose, I asked you a question." Edward said sharply to her. She didn't like the knowing look he gave her.

"And I didn't hear it." She responded sharply, turning back to him. His green eyes lit up in amusement.

"I guess your mind is just on…other things today." He commented dryly, leaning back in the booth.

She resisted the urge to slap the smug smile off his face. "I guess." She said, her face twisting in anger as the glare threatened things to Edward that she didn't need to say out loud.

Alice watched the pair of them with relative disinterest. Her gaze wandered around the diner, barely landing on any particular group before moving to look at the next.

At Angela and Emmett's table, she paused. It was obvious to her that Emmett and Rosalie were fooling around, but she couldn't quite grasp how it had happened. Alice had known Emmett since they were kids. He was always a good kid, holding her hand, standing up to bullies, and playing the prince to her princess. Growing up, he remained that kind hearted guy which is why he was eventually drawn to Angela, the nicest girl Alice knew.

Unfortunately, that was all that could be said of Angela. She was nice but not particularly interesting. Alice had tried on various occasions to befriend the girl out of respect for her and Emmett's relationship, but she simply could not hold a conversation. Emmett and Angela worked though in a way that Emmett and Rosalie didn't.

"Quit checking out Tanya." Rosalie's voice sharply cut through Alice's memories, bringing her back to the pair sitting across from her.

Edward rolled his eyes but took them off of the strawberry blonde across the diner. Rosalie moved closer to him in the booth, almost prompting an eye roll from Alice. Almost, but not quite. Instead she excused herself from the booth to use the bathroom.

With her gone, Edward turned to Rosalie. "So you can go make out with Emmett McCarty but God forbid I even _glance_ at Tanya Denali who, might I add, is single?" Edward demanded to know of her, his hand resting on the back of the booth.

"Correct." Rosalie said simply, crossing her arms. "Oh, and you're sleeping over my house tonight, too." She added, waving her hand in a premature dismissal to his objections.

"You know I can't." He sighed having had this fight many times before. She placed one of her hands on his chest and leaned closer. His green eyes were mesmerized as he looked at her. "Of course you can." She spoke softly, begging with her own eyes.

The pleading in them was real. Edward wasn't stupid, he knew that Rosalie had the ability to play him like a harp but he also knew her, a product of a ten year friendship. She may want to think that the play was a power trip, but he recognized the actual loneliness in her eyes.

He sighed again, losing the fight before it even started.

Rosalie sat back in the seat, a triumphant smile on her face as Edward allowed his arm to drop over her shoulder, protectively. He looked over to Emmett to see if the prick was paying attention, but he was mindlessly in conversation with his girlfriend.

Edward happened to notice Tanya though as her blue eyes took in his arm around Rosalie's shoulder. He made no attempt to move it or brush it off. You would think people would be used to it by now. Rosalie moved in closer to him, sipping on her shake gently, her eyes on the table and not the people in the diner for once.

"Edward's sleeping over tonight, too." Rosalie announced the second Alice returned to the table, springing back to life. Alice noted Edward's arm around Rosalie and nodded, expecting no less from her.

Alice had joined Edward and Rosalie's friendship later in life, after the boundaries of their relationship had been established. Well, whatever boundaries there were.

Alice didn't try to understand how they operated, only rolled with whatever they said. One night they were snuggling and holding each other like a pair of newlyweds and the next Edward was leading a girl back to his room as Rosalie looked on indifferently. But they always returned to each other.

Rosalie nuzzled further into Edward's chest, not wanting to look up at Emmett and Angela. She didn't like him with her, but Rosalie was undeniably not ready for a relationship. With her eyes closed, she didn't notice Edward's eyes return to Tanya, although Alice did.

Why Edward encouraged Rosalie was beyond Alice's grasp on their relationship so she left it alone. That was the only way anyone could be friends with the two of them, by letting them be them. Many had tried to befriend the pair, but the questions about their relationship had soon followed and they fell out of Rosalie's grace and thus, the school's.

Rosalie opened her eyes and sat up in the seat on no cue that Alice could tell. "When do we get to leave?" She asked her friends, bored by the familiar red walls of the diner and cheesy 50s songs playing in the background.

"Can't you sit still for two seconds." Edward teased, pulling on her blonde hair. Rosalie moved away from him, annoyed now.

"Maybe I just don't want to."

Alice ignored the two of them again. Rosalie would get over this latest problem soon enough. Before Rosalie could get too far into the petty fight with Edward, Royce King walked into the diner and Rosalie perked up, pulling away from Edward's arm which fell off her shoulder and back to his side.

Royce made his way over to their table, his eyes locked on Rosalie who was currently playing with her milkshake straw, prodding the rapidly melting ice cream.

"Hi, Rosalie." He said, his hands going into his pockets as he observed Edward's glare.

"Hi, Royce." She beamed up at him, distracting Emmett from his conversation with Angela.

Emmett hated when Rosalie looked at other guys like that, but he prided himself in being the only guy that she actually did anything with. Although he did have to pride himself silently.

"Are you going to the football game tonight?" Royce asked Rosalie, his chest practically puffing from his pride. His status as the quarterback earned him a lot of respect in their small California high school.

Before she could answer, Edward stepped in.

"We're actually going back to her house after this." Edward emphasized the _we_ implying more than Rosalie cared for.

A frown etched her face as she looked at Edward but her smile was back as she looked at Royce.

"Actually," She began, drawing out the word, "I'm thinking of going tonight. Gotta support the team after all." She winked at Royce and he beamed down at her, pleased to see her happy.

Rosalie had Royce had dated for nearly a week, a record for Rosalie, before she got sick of him and broke up with him to move onto different things. But, if he was back in Rosalie's good graces, there was a chance they could get back together, something that Royce had become obsessed with.

At her words, Edward stood up and left the table. He loved Rosalie but she was a real pain. Roping every guy she could imagine along and allowing them nothing. He made his way to Tanya's table, sliding in the booth next to her.

"Mind if I join?" Tanya giggled, shaking her head. Her friends got the memo and muttered quickly about going to the bathroom before exiting.

"You know, I have been watching you all night." He said, sliding his arm around her.

"I did notice that, yes." She said with a laugh.

Edward couldn't help but compare her eyes to Rosalie's clear blue ones, but he stopped himself before comparing further. Tanya came up short when compared to Rosalie. But then again, almost any girl did.

"Why don't you give me your number and we could get some food or catch a movie sometime." He said, passing his phone to her.

She smiled, putting her number in.

"I look forward to hearing from you." She said, smiling even more and leaning in.

"Well, don't." Rosalie's voice snapped near Edward's ear. She was standing over the booth with her arms crossed, her voice sharp.

Royce stood at their old booth still, pretending to be interested in whatever Alice was saying while his entire body faced Rosalie and Edward.

Rosalie grabbed Edward's arm before Tanya could say anything, marching him past Alice and out of the diner.

"What the hell was that." Edward fumed, ripping his arm out of her grasp once they were outside.

"You shouldn't be talking to other girls." She said petulantly, crossing her arms.

"And why is that? Or is one just not enough, I need at least three right. Emmett, Royce, and I guess I'm lucky number three on your list."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're the one that I actually picked to be my friend." She rolled her eyes like this was an obvious compliment.

"So what are they then? Nothing?" Edward demanded.

"_They_ are nothing and even if they were something they would continue to be none of your business." And that was the end of that. She pushed past him and sat in the car, waiting. Luckily, that was the moment that Alice came outside, having seen them leave.

"Let's go." She said, commenting on nothing that happened inside.

Alice had seen it a thousand times, their little games and didn't care to discuss them.

The radio was playing the same mindless music that the diner had been and Rosalie flipped through the stations, not really paying attention to the songs as she flipped by them. Alice drove straight to Rosalie's house, the massive mansion on a cliff overlooking their town. Rosalie didn't talk much about her parents but Alice had gathered some information over the years.

Her mother owned a chain of restaurants that Rosalie actively avoided going to in town and her father was constantly travelling with his pharmaceutical company. They travelled for work and fun, but never with Rosalie and rarely with Jasper.

Jasper was Rosalie's twin but he was aspiring to a career working with one of his parents, something that Alice admired in him. She liked to think of him as the sane twin, the one who didn't find joy is fucking with people's heads. Alice missed him when he was gone and the calm that he brought to their little group.

They pulled up to the white marble mansion and got out, the view having little effect on the three of them, having seen it countless times before.

Walking up to the house Edward grabbed Rosalie's hand and she let him, grateful to feel the warmth encircle her hand. It was rougher than hers, Edward had to actually work unlike Rosalie, but she liked his hand like that.

Emmett and Royce both had soft hands and they felt different against her hand. Not as manly. Of course Edward's hands had never been on her body in the way that Emmett or Royce's hands had. She had wanted him to and he undoubtedly wanted to, but they never breached that barrier. Something about sex just felt ultimate between them, like it would change everything, which was how sex was supposed to feel, but not for Rosalie.

Her first time actually having sex was with James Novak a boy she had shared her first kiss with years before and it just felt right to lose her virginity to the same boy. A complete circle almost. She had no feelings for him, she just wanted to try it out, which was probably wrong as she was a freshman and he was a junior. But she didn't mind and it wasn't a bad memory.

With Emmett and Royce it was about the feeling; a way to starve off the loneliness for some time. With Edward she feared it would be a lot more.

So they continued with their fucked up relationship, unwilling to give up the pretense that they were just friends for anything real.

And Alice let them pretend.

She let them pretend even as she watched them crawl into bed together after a long day, Edward holding Rosalie as the tears came and kissing them off her cheeks. That was when Alice left the room.

Wandering down the cold marble hallways to find the fireplace in their living room and start it up. She didn't like watching them when they got to be too much like a couple.

Often she felt like Rosalie's mother instead of her equal, something Rosalie undoubtedly needed, but maybe not what Alice did.

When would it be her turn to have someone look at her the way Edward did Rosalie? Alice's thoughts drifted to Jasper before pulling back to Rosalie. Maybe Alice would actually look back at this mysterious person instead of turning away from the love in his eyes. Maybe she would give in to it, to the love she yearned for.

For try as Rosalie did to push everyone away, Rosalie Hale yearned for love. Alice saw it written all over her face clear as day.

From Emmett to Royce, Rosalie was looking for love and instead she was tricking these guys into loving her while she ran away only to tug them back in at the last moment.

And Edward was the same, except unlike the others he actually was Rosalie's equal. He was the one that could teach her the error of her ways if he only sought out to do so. But he didn't because he was afraid and he was tired.

Alice didn't doubt his love for Rosalie but she also could recognize that he was weary of her. She snuggled in a blanket by the fire, thinking how nice it would be to have someone to hold her at night, someone to kiss her tears away. But her tears never came.

Because there was no point but to keep moving.

Miss Mackay, the housekeeper, came into the room then, drawn in by the fire. When she saw Alice huddled in the blanket she quietly nodded and closed the door, leaving Alice alone in the massive room, the fire in her face and the wind howling in her ears.

If she listened closely, she would be able to hear Rosalie's cries faintly echoing throughout the house. But she didn't listen.

She didn't want to hear anything but her own cries tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

Alice shut the door to Rosalie's house carefully, not wanting to slam it shut and alert the people in the house of her departure. She wasn't entirely sure if Edward and Rosalie were still asleep, but she needed time to herself to think without dealing with the two of them. She slipped into her car, flinching as her bare legs not covered by her shorts touched the sticky leather of the seat. She turned the car on and pulled out of the extra long driveway, not bothering to flip on the radio. The sounds of the small town coming to life were background noise enough for her quick drive.

The coffee burned her tongue as she took her first sip, settling into the hard chair. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she unlocked it to find a missed call from her mother. Alice's mother was the hands-off type, leaving Alice to live her life as she pleased, but even she noticed when her daughter didn't come home at night. Her finger itched to call her mother back, but Alice ignored the call and placed the phone back in her pocket. She knew what she was really craving was for somebody to notice her absence and care. Once her mother realized she was at the Hale's, there wouldn't be much interest left. Alice's fingers picked at her bagel, but none of the pieces that she ripped off made it into her mouth.

Leaving Starbucks an hour later, Alice felt that she had reached a new understanding with herself. She had let her emotions eat away at her until they had erupted last night, but Alice was determined not to relive that feeling curled up in front of the fireplace. The hot coffee warmed her body and Alice smiled to herself, exiting the coffee shop. She was going to take control of her life. And with that in mind she made her way to school.

Sliding out of her car and walking up to the school, Alice noted the packed parking lot. She glanced at her watch and picked up the pace, she was further behind than she thought. Alice spotted Rosalie's red convertible, parked in the usual spot. That meant Rosalie and Edward had beat her here. Alice checked her phone and found no messages from them. Apparently they hadn't noticed her absence that morning, or simply didn't care. Don't focus on that, Alice reminded herself, steeling herself as she approached the front door to the small school.

The sound of her classmates assaulted her ears the second she stepped through the doors. Normally at seven in the morning her classmates could barely mumble a hello to each other, but today they were animated, excitedly looking around at each other. People were glancing all around them, like they were looking for something although Alice couldn't fathom what that something was.

Alice spotted Emmett gathering books at his locker with Angela leaning beside him, chatting away. About what, Alice had no idea. She could barely get Angela to say two words to her despite her many attempts. Although, it was for the better now that Alice knew what she did about Rosalie and Emmett. Being friends with Angela would put Alice in a position that she wasn't entirely comfortable with.

"What's going on with everyone?" Alice asked when she reached the couple. Angela quickly stopped talking to Emmett and turned to Alice with a smile on her face.

"Hi, Alice." Emmett greeted her.

"We just got a new student." Angela answered, excitedly, the first time Alice was able to describe Angela as having any other emotion than happy. To get Angela worked up about gossip was nearly impossible.

Alice presumed Angela's hatred of gossip had something to do with the rumor that Rosalie started when they were younger that Angela liked girls. Angela had never said anything but soon after, Angela and Emmett got together and the rumor died down. Alice still felt bad for not being able to stop Rosalie from spreading that rumor. Angela truly was a good person and didn't deserve it but once Rosalie decided something it was nearly impossible to stop her.

Alice smiled to them as she thanked them and walked away, taking in the new information. Their small town hadn't received a new student in probably ten years, long before Alice had gotten sick of the familiar faces of her classmates.

Alice walked down the hallway, looking around for a new face in the sea of people that she had known since kindergarten, but came up short. Alice stopped her search when she spotted Edward leaning against Rosalie's locker, as usual. Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, because of course he was at Rosalie's locker, she walked over to him.

"Did you hear the news?" Alice asked, cheerfully, hoping he wouldn't bring up her disappearance that morning. Naturally, he didn't and even Alice's upbeat tone barely registered with Edward as he ignored her, choosing instead to scowl at his cellphone before shoving it roughly into his pocket. He ran a hand angrily through his copper hair, seeming to struggle to keep his eyes open. Edward was by no means a morning person and, from the lack of coffee cup in his hand, was caffeine deprived that morning.

Alice waited patiently for him to acknowledge her, as she knew from experience that he eventually would. In the meantime, she tapped her foot on the tile, hoping to drawn his attention towards her. It didn't work and Alice finally spotted what, or rather who, he was staring at down the hallway.

Rosalie made her way towards them, her blonde hair coiled on top of her head as she looked around, smiling at the people she was friendly with. Edward scowled as a few of the guys in the hall checked her out, but otherwise continued to ignore Alice and her tapping foot.

"Edward!" Alice nearly shouted, hitting him gently with her textbook to draw his attention away from Rosalie once her patience had worn thin.

Edward's scowl intensified as he saw Rosalie pause to talk to Royce and he reluctantly turned to Alice.

"What news, Alice?" He sighed, seeming to force his head to remain facing away from Rosalie and towards Alice, not even bothering to hide his annoyance. Whether the annoyance was directed towards Royce, Rosalie, or Alice was anyone's guess.

"There's a new girl." Alice said happily ignoring the look in his eye, while scanning the crowd again for a new face, but coming up short once again.

"A new girl, huh?" Edward said, slowly, the annoyance fading from his eyes as he turned this information over in his head, searching for the usefulness of a new face in their town. He got that look in his eye, the one he usually only got around Rosalie, that signified to Alice that anything she said would just go over his head because he was done listening.

Edward and Rosalie may be attached at the hip, but he certainly found time to make his way through the female population of their town. Barely any formal dating, of course, Rosalie was crazy jealous of any girl Edward spoke to, but he did get around and knew that he had quite the reputation around their town.

A new girl meant somebody who knew nothing about his reputation. And, if Edward was honest with himself, he was beginning to want more from Rosalie than their weird, undefined, relationship, and she seemed unwilling to give it. Of course, Edward had never expressed this to Rosalie, but he didn't foresee that as a possibility for him. This new girl, though, presented unlimited opportunities.

Alice could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

Just then Rosalie reached the group, smiling at both Alice and Edward, who ignored her. Edward seemed possessed by thoughts of a new face that brought with it new openings for him in his life. Rosalie pushed Edward away from her locker and glared at him as she spun in the code.

"What's his dreamy expression for?" She grumbled to Alice, mad that her simply being there had done nothing to gain Edward's attention.

"We got a new girl at school." Alice said carefully anticipating Rosalie's reaction. Alice watched Rosalie's hands pause on the dial before swinging her locked open forcefully and starting to gather her books with purpose without saying a word.

Edward still hadn't paid Rosalie any attention since she had arrived. Rosalie's glare intensified as she attributed Edward's lack of response to this new information.

"What is she, a supermodel?" She asked Alice sharply, ignoring Edward just as he was ignoring her. Neither was having much success at gaining what they wanted in the situation.

"He hasn't even seen her, Rosalie, nobody has. I just heard about it." Alice left out the part about hearing it from Angela, fearing Rosalie's reaction, especially when she was already visibly wound up.

"Well, she's obviously going to be hideous." Rosalie said, already turning the new girl into a social pariah in her head. It wouldn't be hard for her to do, most people turned to Rosalie to keep up to date on who it was consider appropriate to talk to.

Once, freshman year, a girl insulted Rosalie's new outfit and had to transfer schools the next month, Rosalie, and thus the entire freshman class, was so terrible to her. Even the upperclassmen had gotten involved, taking Rosalie's side. After that, everyone in the school had understood not to mess with Rosalie Hale, and by extent, Edward and Alice. Alice didn't exactly approve of Rosalie's methods of getting her way, but she didn't do anything to stop her. Jasper tried, but he was still traveling with his parents so he could do nothing for the new girl, and, if Alice was honest with herself, his efforts barely did anything anyways.

This time would be different, Alice tried to tell herself. She would protect this new girl from Rosalie's wrath. After all, the girl hadn't even done anything wrong yet and Alice's patience towards Rosalie was wearing thin.

Rosalie used her history book to hit Edward's shoulder and the crack brought Alice back to the present, newly determined to keep this new girl safe.

Rosalie was still angry at being ignored and more so at the idea that he could be daydreaming about another girl right in front of her. Edward turned to Rosalie, a huge smile on his face when he realized the source of Rosalie's anger was the faceless, nameless girl.

"Now, now, no need to be jealous, Rosie." He smirked at her answering glare, tugging gently on a piece of her blonde hair that had escaped her bun.

"Don't call me Rosie." She protested, twirling the stray hair back into place. Edward hardly ever listened to her protests against the despised nickname, so she didn't bother to put much force behind her words.

Just then, the much discussed new face came into Alice's view down the hallway. The girl was pretty, that was obvious from looking at her, and from the way that the boys were in the hallway were currently looking at her, they noticed. She dark brown hair that contrasted her pale skin and Alice could spot her deep brown eyes from where she stood, they were rounded as she looked the people around them and found them blatantly staring back.

Of course, even as pretty as she was, she was still nowhere near as beautiful as Rosalie, Alice determined to herself. Rosalie was a timeless beauty, with a nasty attitude that contrasted her regal looks.

Rosalie noticed the girl mere seconds after Alice had, judging by the change in her body language towards Edward.

"That must be her." She said in a determined voice, straightening her back and slamming her locker shut.

"Rose, don't do anything dramatic." Alice warned, trying to keep Rosalie in order before the girl could become a problem. Who knew what an angry and jealous Rosalie would do to this poor girl who had done nothing but catch Edward's attention. And it wasn't just Edward by the looks of it. The new girl had nearly everyone staring at her, the guys' eyes filling with the same possibilities that Edward's had.

Edward himself was currently wrapped up in examining the girl, which Rosalie's pale blue eyes inevitably noticed. Alice watched his expression and it wasn't one that matched the rest of the guys now. It wasn't one of lust, but a neutral examination, as if he was checking that the girl could fit the role he had obviously already painted for her.

Rosalie ignored Alice's warning and made her way to where the girl was standing, paused nearly in the middle of the hallway, looking frantically from a piece of paper to the classrooms around her. The girl looked up as Rosalie neared, her eyes widening even further as she took in Rosalie's presence and expression, as well as the stares of their peers.

"Hi, I'm Rosalie Hale." She introduced herself, turning the hard stare into a deceptively sweet smile. Rosalie's smile did little to relax the girl.

"Isabella Swan." Rosalie looked the girl over, noting her rough jeans and plain blue shirt. But still, the girl had potential, she couldn't deny, though she was reluctant to admit it.

"Okay, Bella. Follow me." She said, finishing her assessment of her and making her way back to where Edward and Alice were standing by her locker. Rosalie barely registered if Bella was following her and completely ignored the girl's attempts at insisting her name was Isabella.

"Alice, Edward, this is Bella Swan." Rosalie said, presenting Bella like a new gift for Edward and Alice to see.

"Isa-" Bella started to correct before Rosalie cut her off with a glare, effectively silencing her protests against her new name.

Sensing Bella's nervousness, Alice stepped forward with a kind smile on her face. She wanted this girl to be accepted, to be liked. Bella had a kind face and an easy smile, something Alice both instantly liked and envied in her. Alice spent too much time with the never smiling Rosalie and Edward that Bella's smiling face was a nice change.

"Hi, Bella. I'm Alice and this is Edward and Rosalie. Ignore Rosalie, she's a little pissy today." Bella accepted Alice's niceties with a grateful smile and gentle laugh. Edward smiled at at Bella as Alice glanced over at Rosalie and found her fuming at Alice's attempt at light humor.

Alice shouldn't have chosen Rosalie as the butt of her joke. Bella wouldn't notice the anger, very few would, as it was extremely subtle, but Rosalie's stance was rigid and her eyes bled anger if you knew her well enough to detect it.

Alice turned quickly to Bella, taking the paper schedule from her hand in an attempt to defuse the bomb that had become Rosalie. She was waiting to go off on Bella, Alice could tell from Rosalie's eyes alone. Edward continued his silence throughout the whole encounter, probably excited to watch Rosalie explode.

"Let me show you to your classes. See you guys later." Alice said, leading Bella quickly away from the two, Rosalie's glare becoming more obvious to anyone watching the further Bella walked.

"Well, she seems nice." Edward said, smirking at Rosalie's now obvious and visible annoyance.

"She seems like a total pushover. And what was she even wearing like honestly." She ranted, grabbing Edward's hand and pulling him towards their next class.

Their hands remained interlocked and Edward ran his fingers gently over her knuckles in an attempt to calm her down. It seemed to work as Rosalie's posture relaxed the more they walked and the fire cooled in her eyes. Edward smiled at her and she smiled back, a rare genuine smile and Edward remembered why he tolerated Rosalie at her worst.

They continued on this way, a joined unison walking hand in hand to class, until a small body came crashing into Edward's, forcing his hand out of Rosalie's.

"Woah, watch yourself." Both Edward and Rosalie quipped at the same time.

The brunette moved quickly away from his body, bending down to pick up her books mumbling apologies. When she stood up, Edward recognized her from earlier.

"Bella, right?" He asked her, watching the blood run to her cheeks. He glanced over her shoulder quickly, finding Rosalie watching them from barely a foot away where she must have stopped after Bella crashed into him.

With a quick smirk at Rosalie, his hand lingering on Bella's hand as he helped her up. Payback for last night at the diner and those other guys. Rosalie stormed away and Edward turned back to Bella, finding her cheeks burning. Huh. She must have thought the smirk was to her.

"Isabella, actually. But that girl, Rosalie, said… I don't really know actually. She didn't like my name maybe?" Bella smiled gently, trailing off. Edward let out a short laugh.

"Yeah, Rosie likes things her way. I think Bella suits you though." He smiled at her again, leaning in closer to give her a quick wink.

A newly manicured hand came down hard on his shoulder. Rosalie hadn't gone as far as he had thought, apparently.

"Edward, dear, stop flirting. And don't call me Rosie." Rosalie said, glaring at him before fixing Bella with a smile.

"Bella, I'm going to give you a shot at making your time at this God forsaken high school interesting. Meet us at the diner after school. It isn't hard to find, just go to the only restaurant on this road." With that Rosalie left, not caring about Bella's answer or bothering to wait for Edward. He had obviously pissed her off simply by talking to Bella.

Edward rolled his eyes at Rosalie's antics, and not just fully for Bella's benefit. Rosalie was so obviously trying to mark her apparent territory that it was almost laughable. And that snotty voice? Yes, Rosalie was a bit snobbish but that was another level that Edward hadn't encountered before and it was almost laughable.

Bella turned to Edward and, seeing his eye roll, proceeded with her thoughts on Rosalie, "I don't know about her. I mean, I met this other girl, Angela, who seems really nice but Rosalie, seems, interesting I guess?" Bella questioned, fixing the bag on her shoulder.

Edward raised an eyebrow, grateful that Rosalie was out of range of hearing. Angela was currently walking down the hallway, hand in hand with Emmett, her boyfriend who was staring at Rosalie as if she was his personal angel.

Bella may not understand it yet, but it was impossible to be friends with both Angela and Rosalie. He had watched Alice try and come up short. Rosalie could try and be subtle with Emmett but it was obvious to Edward and Alice what was going on between them.

"What class do you have?" He asked, beginning to walk and Bella fell into step beside him.

"Um, biology. Alice pointed me in the right way, but she had to go and I kind of got lost after using the bathroom." She smiled sheepishly.

Edward watched Bella speak and couldn't help but notice the differences between her and Rosalie. No girl was quite like Rosalie, of course, but it seemed like Bella had been designed to be Rosalie's opposite. On the shorter side, with rich, dark hair and matching dark brown eyes, not to mention her quieter voice and small smiles, she seemed nothing like Rosalie. But she wasn't a pushover like Rosalie thought, Edward noted, he noticed something inside of her that signified a fire inside of her.

He internally scolded himself for getting so mushy. And not even about Rosalie, like he usually did. And his pause must have been slightly too long because Bella was giving him a weird look, so he quickly spoke.

"I have biology now as well. Lucky you." He said with a smirk, eyeing her cheeks for the inevitable blush. Girls go weak at his smirk and this girl already seemed fond of blushing around him.

Bella's cheeks remained porcelain, to his surprise. Instead she simply smiled at him and Edward found himself smiling back.

He noticed Rosalie then, leaning against Royce's locker. The look she was giving Edward wasn't angry or jealous, like he would expect, it was calculating. Like she was staring at a math problem that she didn't fully understand. It made Edward uneasy, but Bella didn't seem to notice as she chattered away about her home life.

Edward barely listened to Bella's explanation of her whole moving from Phoenix situation, too focused on trying to read the weird expression on Rosalie's face. Until he heard one memorable name come from Bella's mouth. Charlie Swan.

"Officer Swan is your father?" He asked quickly, cutting her off in the middle of a sentence. She flushed red.

"Yes, but he's good old dad to me. Well, still Charlie to me actually, but same thing I suppose." Edward had gotten into trouble with Officer Swan numerous times for underage drinking, but Rosalie's family always stepped in at her request.

It wasn't likely that the Hale's would get in trouble for anything in this town. It was so small that everyone knew everyone's business and absolutely nobody messed with the Hale's, not even the police department. They were easily the richest and most influential people in the town. It was really no wonder that Rosalie had grown up the way she had, Edward didn't blame her. If he has been taught from a young age that he was untouchable, he'd be as fucked up as Rosalie was.

Jasper had a more human side to him, as Edward knew that Alice liked to think, but really, Jasper grew up the same as Rosalie, thinking his family was the best the town had to offer. The kids were practically untouchable from all the money the Hale's donated to the police foundation yearly. To fall from the graces of the Hale's meant no more money, the police knew that and they weren't likely to mess that up simply because of underage drinking.

Charlie Swan cared less about all of the politics of the matter. He was a simple man that believed if you break the law, you should be punished. Edward knew that he saw the Hales, and Edward as an extension, as spoiled kids and yet there was nothing that he could do about it. Officer Swan hated Edward and he would undeniably be pissed at Bella hanging around with Edward, a thought which filled him with joy.

Edward slipped his arm around Bella's shoulder as the possibilities of pissing off the dear old officer flitted through his head. And she wasn't so bad to look at, which was a plus.

"Bella, you and I are going to be great friends." He smiled, squeezing her tight as Bella smiled up at him and Rosalie looked on, the strange look still on her face.


End file.
